The New York City fire department is taking extra steps to prepare EMS workers to respond to potential cases of the Ebola virus.
The department says 911 dispatchers are now asking any callers that complain of symptoms including fever or vomiting about their recent travel.
They ask if the caller has recently traveled to West Africa and if so, if they’ve possibly come into contact with someone with Ebola.
If the answer is yes, the dispatcher alerts the responding EMS units so that they can take additional precautions.
This is one of a number of steps the city has taken in recent months to prepare for a potential case of Ebola.
Meanwhile, the American photojournalist who contracted Ebola while working in Liberia has arrived in Nebraska for treatment.
Ashoka Mukpo, 33, was covering the outbreak in Liberia when he tested positive for the virus.
His plane arrived in Omaha earlier after making a brief stop in Maine.
Mukpo will be the second Ebola patient to be treated at an isolation unit at Nebraska Medical Center.
In a media briefing with Mukpo’s doctors, his parents were optimistic about his recovery.
Meantime, the Liberian man diagnosed with Ebola in Dallas remains in critical condition.
Health officials there say they are monitoring approximately 40 people that may have come into contact with Thomas Eric Duncan.
http://www.ny1.com/content/news/216735/fdny-updates-911-protocol-for-potential-ebola-patients/
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